The Movie Spew: Unpaid Interns Launch Black Swan Lawsuit

Here’s a weird one. Apparently two unpaid interns from Black Swan have decided to sue the
makers of the film because they were treated like unpaid interns. Alex Footman
and Eric Glatt have launched a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox
claiming they suffered such indignities as having to grab coffee and prepare
menial payment documents.

I’m not sure what the two interns were expecting when
they signed on for the gig. It sounds like they did exactly what that job
entailed. I guess they thought that Darren Aronofsky might let them choreograph
a few scenes or strap on some tights and dance alongside Natalie Portman for
the big final number. I’m not sure what sort of case these guys think they
have.

Until a union of National Film Set Coffee Gatherers forms, that’s going
to be the number one job for movie set interns. If by some miracle they win the
lawsuit, I guess that means that unpaid interns everywhere will officially have
to start running their respective offices for free as part of their volunteer
services. I’m not sure how a pair of unpaid interns will be able to afford a
major law suit against studio, but I guess that’s for their mommy and daddy to
sort out. (See what I did there? Burn!)

Mortal Kombat Is Getting Remade for Some Reason

As an 11-year-old, Mortal Kombat seemed to me like one of the greatest movies ever made. It took what I loved about kicking the shit out of cartoon fighters in a video game and threw it up on the big screen where I could watch actors kick the shit out of each other without having to operate a controller while appreciating the violence.

The movie doesn’t exactly hold up these days, but that’s not going to stop Warner Brothers from rebooting the film franchise that disappeared after a single abysmal sequel. It should have been predictable. After all, Warner Brothers was responsible for rebooting the video game last year so that PS3 and Xbox gamers could decapitate their favorite fighters in glorious HD.

The new game worked surprisingly well, sold a
pile of copies, and now the world will be treated to a new movie is 2013 that
will (surprise, surprise) coincide with the release of the next game. This
seems like a big ol’ mistake to me, but then I’m not 12 years old anymore
and I don’t want to deprive the next generation of the joys of a ludicrously
violent fight movie.

Studios to Charge More for 3D Even Though People Starting to Hate 3D

Hey, do you like being overcharged for 3D movies? Awesome,
because you’re about to be charged even more for the privilege of watching a
movie through murky faux-sunglasses.

Apparently the studios are fed up with
paying the $5-$10 million it costs to keep theaters stocked with their 3D
glasses, so they plan on raising the ticket price to pass that cost onto the consumer. The price increase will only be about 50
cents per ticket, but given that 3D movies already cost $5-$10 more than
general admission depending on the size of the screen, it’s still a pain in the
ass. You’d think that the studios would be okay absorbing the glasses cost given
that they make so much more on 3D movies, but no. They love money and they will
pry it from their audience's hands by any means necessary.

Given that audiences
are starting to flock to 2D screenings over 3D screenings in droves, this is a
curious way of trying to get people back on the 3D bandwagon, but I never said
that studios use logic when making these sorts of business decisions. That’s
just not how they operate. Just be aware that the next time you want to see
Nicolas Cage plunge his hairline towards the camera in 3D, you will be forking
over a little extra cash for the privilege.

Phil Brown was born years ago. He then grew up, went to university, and now reviews movies, interviews people and writes comedy. He writes for a number of websites and publications including the one you are currently reading. Phil can be found haunting movie theatres around Toronto. He isn't dangerous,…